mylifeinspain

my week in fotos....

When Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow a few weeks ago, signaling another six weeks of winter, I shrugged my shoulders, as one does around here, and asked "What winter? If this is winter, I will take another six weeks of sunshine and mid-60 (F) afternoon temps." But I knew it was silly to be cocky because the rain and the miserable cold dampness always come eventually. And so just as my hyacinths are poking through the warm soil, winter finally arrived this past week:

Yes, it can be pretty damn dreary in the south of Spain at times, although really you didn't hear that from me. But when the clouds were finally done emptying their much-needed goodness, after eight straight days of persisting rain, I finally ventured onto the terrace and found signs that old Phil may not ALWAYS be right....

Good job, too, because the laundry basket is close to overflowing, and we don't have a secadora! :-)

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

3 years ago: Lots of fotos!
2 years ago: Foto Friday
1 year ago: No entry.

my week in fotos....

First, a few more from the holiday trip archives....

The hawk (anyone have a clue what type?) that hangs out my parents' backyard:

UPDATE: Thanks to M. and her brother, we have narrowed the hawk type down to either a sharp-shinned hawk or a Cooper's hawk. But as you can see from pictures of both here, you can see why even more advanced birders have difficulty distinguishing the two breeds.

Cute plumb-tuckered pups:

The fountain of chocolatey goodness :-):

One of the fun things we did while in Philadelphia (after first have a perfect diner breakfast here):

But as you can see in the fine print here, we're not allowed to blog about it!

And a few more from the past week:

The kitty...

Big Jim gave me this for Christmas, a solar-powered light, which I charge up on the roof terrace and then it glows all night long. Pretty cool :-) :

A mini-clown, from the village Carnaval parade:

And lastly, Bode tries to figure out how the bidet works:

He's one silly kitty!

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

3 years ago: No entry.
2 years ago: Foto Friday
1 year ago: No entry.

carnaval!

For reasons unknown to me, or any of the Spanish neighbors I asked, today the village children celebrated Carnaval, 10 days after Fat Tuesday. This technicality did not dampen most of their spirits, and frankly even the brattiest of kids looked pretty adorable. See for yourself. First, the guarderia:

And one of the mothers gets in on the fun (seriously, what are the chances a mother in the US could get away with wearing this getup to an elementary school function...)

And then the kindergarten:

The unhappy girl in the next foto is Almendena's great-niece; she was most displeased with her clown shoes. And who wouldn't be?!

The first graders:

Two little chatterboxes in the making:

And the "big kids" (looks like number 5 would much rather be a pirate, and who could blame him really :-)

As an aside, when did all schoolteachers become like 25-years-old!?!

The girl on the left below is Almendena's oldest granddaughter, and every time I see her she has grown up even more. I can't BELIEVE she is off to middle school next year. She is supernice and the only person in their entire family not afraid of dogs. Her aunts, grandmothers, great-aunts all cover their eyes and look away when she courageously pets the precious Boo, which is silly because the pB wouldn't hurt a fly.

And bringing up the rear, one cranky youngster and an overbearing abuela:

Have a great weekend!

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

3 years ago: Books on tape
2 years ago: No entry.
1 year ago: No entry.

another 10 things i love about big jim

In the spirit of St. Valentine's day, I continue my annual Hallmarky tribute to the Big Jim. Numbers 1-10 are from 2005, nos. 11-20 from 2006, nos. 21-30 from 2007, and nos. 31-40 are this year's additions.

1. He still makes me gushy (and hence do lists like this one :-)
2. He is one of the most generous people I have ever met....to me, to my family, and our friends
3. He is a tremendously good cook, always able to whip up something fabulous from whatever we have in the kitchen (BJ, hereafter I will never mention the curried fish-stuffed pancakes... ;-)
4. He is also an excellent nursemaid, when these service are required. He is very good with the teas and lemon and honey, toast and crackers, and generally being a sympathetic spirit
5. He is an absolutely great friend
6. He is not afraid to cry; whenever we watch a sentimental movie, it's a tossup who will turn on their sprinklers first
7. He is a really hard worker; this is of course important to me and my PA Dutch work ethic. When he starts a project, he completely devotes himself to it
8. A former boyfriend's mother once described me (negatively) as a "free spirit"; Big Jim doesn't run away from this; rather, he embraces this aspect of my personality completely
9. His kind and caring gestures, like the way he always manages to secretly fill my hot water bottle, wrap my PJs around it, and tuck in the bed, so that all are toasty warm
   when I get sleepy
10. His morning "bed head", which makes him look so cute I often beg him not to comb it :-)
11. His ability to stay calm when truly important, e.g., in the aftermath of the earthquake in Pakistan
12. He can always make a child laugh
13. His stuffed wallaby (named OK-Derek)
14. He makes the absolutely best curries
15. His appreciation of and patience with my "quirks"
16. He is a good father
17. He has learned to say to-MAY-to, like a good American :-)
18. He has earned the respect and affection of C.K. (no easy feat), who is now just as likely to park herself on Big Jim's lap as mine (R.I.P.)
19. He loves books as much as I do
20. After almost nine years (now 11!), through good and bad times, not a day goes by without him telling me that he loves me
21. He has taught me how to make a good cup of tea
22. He gets just as excited as I do spending three hours wandering about a supermarket
23. His appreciation of "home"
24. He successfully manages his technienerdgeekness without being a wanker
25. His legs
26. His love of the precious Boo
27. His willingness to learn new things
28. He knows how to use a wokTWO woks AND a frying pan simultaneously (I stand corrected)
29. He can make almost anything grow in the garden
30. Just thinking about him warms my belly
31. He finds Bode kitty just as silly as I do
32. The first weekend home after I stopped eating meat, he made us a huge vegetarian curry feast
33. He pretends to like football
34. He has taught me that leeks and parsnips are seriously undervalued in American cooking
35. He is not afraid to make himself look ridiculous, especially to make a child laugh; see the fifth foto here if you have any doubt
36. He loves his little Beeb man
37. I know that he hates to not be at home much, especially at times like these when the precious Boo walks into the room with as much white powder around her nose as any drugged-out tabloid celebrity, signifying she has recently made a trip to the "snack bar" (aka Bode's litter box)
38. Every trip home, he brings me a stack of (not always trashy!) English-language magazines from the press shop where he works
39. He speaks his mind
40. Not a morning person, he tolerates my happy, chirpy AM mood

I love you, big guy.
xxoo,
wife

my week in fotos....

First, a few more pictures from our trip to the States last month (I figure I will be finished sorting through all the fotos by summer if I'm lucky :-):

Some of my favorite people in the whole wide world. :-)

My parents' dog, the distinguished Chance.

My niece and her Oma.

My last piece of meat on December 31, 2007, and yes it really was a huge steak, 22 oz! No, I did not finish it, but almost.

Supercutie Josephine. :-)

Me and my baby bro.

And from the past week...

I love Big Jim at Ikea in his reading glasses. Seriously, I think they add to his cuteness. :-) I also love my new desk chair. :-)

Beach in Caleta, where we had lunch Saturday afternoon.

The kitty

And his best friend, the precious Boo.

Damn I hate living so close to the beach! :-)

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

went fishing

...as Big Jim has been home this weekend, so updated post and more fotos manana. :-)

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

3 years ago: 1?
2 years ago: Foto Friday/Sevilla pics
1 year ago: No entry.

now this is just silly

When Bode kitty first came to live with us, a rule was established that he not be allowed to sleep in the bedroom at night as to not step on the pups' toes any more than his sudden arrival already was; plus, I knew otherwise I would be pushing my luck with Big Jim because he barely tolerates the dogs' presence. As difficult as it was, especially when he was such a wee little thing, I used to wrap him (Bode kitty, not Big Jim :-) in a wool blanket on the sofa in the tv lounge, rationalizing it was better for him to stay in a heated room, and firmly shut the bedroom door behind me.

Now that Kookamunga (which I think is the most accurate verbal expression to describe the manic actions of a 5-month-old kitten) goes into hyper mode just before bedtime, trying to shut the bedroom door before the little flash flies in behind me is a new nightly challenge. But even after I scoop him out from under the bed, give him a kiss on the top of his head, wish him good night, and slip him out into the hallway, the tenacious Bode has yet another plan....

See, at some point in the last century when the house was renovated interior windows were put into the previously ventana-less bedroom and bathroom and a skylight-type contraption added to their adjoining hallway, providing a good amount of light to what otherwise would have been a cave-like part of the house. And now it also provides a certain kitty one last hope to plead his case.

You have to admire his chutzpah (check out those claws!) and creativity (he is carefully balanced on the edge of an old leather chair seat so that he can reach the pane), but no chance buddy. Or at least until you learn that night time is SLEEP time, not running around bouncing off walls and biting heads and feet or any other exposed flesh time. :-)

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

my week in fotos....

Okay, so perhaps all the fotos this week are not actually from this week, but I am still wading through the gazillion I took while we were in the US. ANYWAY, hope you enjoy them and this new weekly feature for 2008. :-) Have a great weekend, everyone!

My grandmother, working the gyroscope ball like nobody's business---all that crocheting = superfit wrists!

King DAD. For the uninitiated, the paper crowns are from our Christmas crackers, which have been part of our X-mas tradition since Big Jim became a part of our family. :-) The amusing story re: the Oma's purple one is that she despises the color, so much so that some of her friends at the ALF will not stop by her room if they are wearing purple. But we made her wear the crown anyway because we're mean. :-)

My cousin's daughter Ava.

My niece with, yes, a gummy worm up her nose, which her Uncle Jimmy, see below, taught her to do.

Yeah, I don't know this man either.....

And yes, Big Jim ate there. :-)

View from the terrace back home in the village.

The gorgeous late afternoon light.

The precious Boo. Please note the lumpy bit on pillow behind her. I couldn't find Bode kitty anywhere, which was why I dared to interrupt the pB's precious sleep. And then I noticed the lumpy bit move....

Found him, little (supercute) bugger.

The handsome Mr. Beebs, aka "the trashpicker". :-)

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

3 years ago: 10 more days... (the beginning of the detached retina saga is found in the January 2005 archives)
2 years ago: Kitty reclining on terrace no. 2
1 year ago: No entry.